This Used To Be My Playground
by Magelet1
Summary: Okay, here's the sequel to 'Knighthood'. The aftermath of the war.


This Used to Be My Playground   
Lyrics by Madonna  
Story by Magelet  
  
The war was finally over and Tortall had won, but the country was left in ruin. The worst part, aside from the hundreds of casualties, was what happened to   
the capital. The city had been ruined. Lit aflame by an unknown arson, the city had been evacuated and left in ashes. The castle had been torn apart by the   
battle that had taken place there when the Scanrans had managed to break the line and get that far south.  
  
This used to be my playground  
This used to be my childhood dream   
This used to be the place I ran to   
Whenever I was in need   
Of a friend   
  
Keladry's boots crunched over the rubble that had once been where the pages had trained with their swordsmaster. In one corner, she actually found half   
of a wooden practice sword that had been used to teach pages how to wield the weapon. She knelt and picked up the ruined item with two-handed reverence and   
held it to her chest, as a rogue tear slid down her cheek.  
  
Why did it have to end   
And why do they always say   
Don't look back   
Keep your head held high   
Don't ask them why   
  
Standing once more, Kel limped over to the former stables. Her war wound was acting up again. Every once in a while now she was forced to favor it and   
limp. It seemed that all of a sudden, just being here, it didn't want to work properly for her. Grimacing, the lady knight remembered that her leg would be that way   
for the rest of her life.  
  
Because life is short   
And before you know   
You're feeling old   
And your heart is breaking   
Don't hold on to the past   
Well that's too much to ask   
  
Peachblossom's old stall was on of the few that resembled its old palace splendor. A few more tears rolled down her scarred cheeks. The Scanrans had   
killed her horse when they had re-captured Northwatch. The two shared many special memories and a connection that she and her current horse, Hoshi,   
could never have. Kel would never forget her temperamental horse that she had befriended as a page.  
  
This used to be my playground  
This used to be my childhood dream   
This used to be the place I ran to   
Whenever I was in need   
Of a friend   
  
Her friends. Tears flowed freely at that thought. So many had fallen. Cleon was the first, slaughtered by a Scanran ambush near Mindelan. Then Roald,   
who grew up so fast to take charge as his father had in time of war, was cowardly poisoned by the enemy. Owen and Merric had gone together at the betrayal of   
the Lord of Stone Mountain. Shinkokami, Lerant, Yuki, and Neal had swiftly followed to the Dark God's lair. Even the Lioness, Queen, Buri, and Raoul had fallen   
before the victory had been secured.  
  
Why did it have to end   
And why do they always say   
No regrets   
But I wish that you   
Were here with me   
  
Not hearing soft footsteps behind her, Kel, who had fallen to her knees to mourn her deceased friends, was startled by a hand lain on her shoulder. Kel up   
spun onto her good leg, drawing her sword and was in a ready stance facing the intruder all in one practiced veteran's liquid move. When she saw who it was though,   
she let her sword fall and clutched her friend tightly to her, weeping into their neck.  
  
Well then there's hope yet   
I can see your face   
In our secret place   
You're not just a memory   
Say goodbye to yesterday  
Those are words I'll never say  
  
Faleron of King's Reach wrapped his only arm around his friend, hand stroking her hair soothingly. His left arm had been claimed by an enemy sword in the   
battle that had cost the life of many fellow knights. They stood there together in the ruin of memories, crying together, the only ones left in the world who felt the   
burden of the war so much. Having survived was almost worse than having died would have been at this point. It had been a victory of the country, not the people.  
  
This used to be my playground  
This used to be our pride and joy   
This used to be the place we ran to   
That no one in the world could dare destroy   
  
"Look at it, Faleron." Kel whispered when she had cried all the tears that she had left to shed. "I can't believe how much has changed since we were pages.   
They're all gone, Faleron. We're the only ones left." He must not have trusted his voice, because all he could do was nod sadly. It was the truth, and there was   
nothing that either of them could do about it. Death was horribly final, and their friends all seemed to have been booked for the one-way ticket that ended life as   
they knew it.  
  
This used to be our playground  
This used to be our childhood dream   
This used to be the place we ran to   
I wish you were standing here with me  
  
The two stood there together for how long neither could tell, remembering all the good and horrible things that had happened that tore them away from their   
friends and families, which, both had lost in their entirety. The sun was setting as they departed the ghost city on their horses together. They both stopped   
and turned, at the city gates, however, looking back at the city and castle above it.  
  
This used to be our playground   
This used to be our childhood dream   
This used to be the place we ran to   
The best things in life are always free   
Wishing you were here with me,  
  
Kicking their horses into a run, they fled the feelings surging within them. 


End file.
